Belle van Zuylen Lecture *SOLD OUT*

by György Konrád

This programme is sold out, but the festival welcomes a lot more Hungarian writers in Utrecht like György Dragomán en György Spíro. Both renowned authors perform during the festival day in Paushuize on Sunday April 13. See here for more information & tickets.

This year’s Belle van Zuylen lecture will be given by György Konrád (1933). The goal of the Van Zuylen lecture (to connect literature and society) is perfect for Konrád. During the communist regime in Hungary he was seen as one of the advocates of individual freedom. It wasn’t until 1988 before the censorship on Konrád’s work was lifted in his fatherland, but he has been one of the most influencial Hungarian authors ever since. The communist regime and the Holocaust, that the Jewish Konrád family lived through, are the main themes in his work. In his recent book Pendulum (2008) he describes this Hungarian history and how it influenced his life.

Belle van Zuylen (1740-1805) is undoubtedly one of Utrecht’s most internationally praised female author. Contrary to contemporary conventions she bussied herself with science and via her work liberated herself from established order. The Belle van Zuylen lecture was initiated to honor the work and thinking of the Utrecht author and so she can be a remaining source of inspiration.

Het Literatuurhuis and the faculty of Humanties of the Utrecht University arrange the Belle van Zuylen lecture yearly. The lecture is given by an authoritive artist in the spirit of the Utrecht author and humanist thinker Van Zuylen. Previous editions of the lecture were held by: Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Jeanette Winterson, Azar Nafisi, Michel Faber, Mercedes Abad and Ulf Stolterfoht.